WWF, 1995 Holiday-themed wrestling shows…is there anything better in life? Specifically, look at that Monday Night Raw jack-o-lantern above. Smoke billowing, candle flickering…gotta say, that is pretty darn cool. If I had any skill, I’d try to carve that out and put it on the Reynolds Ranch front porch. Then again, I always take pride in the candy we give out (so Continue Reading...

WWE, 2009 With Hell in a Cell coming up in a few weeks, there’s a strong possibility that The Undertaker will lose by tapout. But did you know that it wouldn’t be the first time? No, I don’t mean when he tapped out to Lesnar and only the timekeeper saw it. And no, I don’t mean the time in 2002 Continue Reading...

WWF, 1988 In the late 80’s, tag team wrestling was arguably the hottest I’d ever seen in my life. You had great tandems all over the place, from the Midnight Express to the Road Warriors, the Hart Foundation, the Horsemen, the Rockers, the British Bulldogs, and about a thousand others I’m not thinking of at the moment. Those of you Continue Reading...

WWE, 2008 Often in wrestling, writers will book an old angle all over again, but stupider. In 2000, The Rock led a walk-out against the ruthless heel authority figures for firing Mick Foley. Eleven years later, Jerry Lawler led a walk-out against the fan-friendly authority figure for negligence and anal bleeding. In 2006, DX dropped simulated fecal matter on the Continue Reading...

WWF, 1991 I don’t follow politics. I’ve seen good men who have and witnessed their rapid decline, as they get furious about things that they cannot possibly hope to change. Don’t get me wrong, I do vote, but I don’t live and die by the nightly news or checking out The Drudge Report. And to be fair, I don’t even know Continue Reading...

WWE, 2008 Ever since Vince McMahon bought out WCW in 2001, WWE’s TV ratings trends have been fluctuating between the proverbial “free fall” and the proverbial “graceful descent with a parachute.” In that sense, 2008 was a year like most any other year in the company’s post-Attitude Era period, with Raw viewership dropping to the low 3s by mid-year after Continue Reading...

WWE, 2007 Once upon a time, many years ago, Saturday Night’s Main Event used to be a major happening. It was an age before Raw, one where the primary television outlet for the WWF was their weekly syndicated show, Superstars of Wrestling. Yes, Prime Time was around, but most folks followed the exploits of their favorite performers on a show that usually aired on Continue Reading...

WWE NXT, 2014 You only get one chance to make a first impression, and for Becky Lynch, even her wrestling debut at age 15, her global experience, and her year in WWE developmental couldn’t save her from bad ideas. Bad ideas like making your wrestling persona the biggest mick this side of the Atlantic. Hey, I’m an O’Donnell. I can Continue Reading...

WWF, 1991 I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but there would be no WrestleCrap.com without Prime Time Wrestling. That’s not because the show was bad; it’s because the show was so fantastically awesome. It’s what led to me becoming a pro wrestling fan in the first place. It started with a British Bulldogs vs. Hart Foundation match. I’d never seen anything Continue Reading...

Or: If a tree falls in the forest, and no one’s there to hear it, does anyone pay to watch it wrestle Glenn Jacobs? WWE, 2008 Like most Wrestlecrap inductions, this one is about Kane, who, with seven Wrestling Observer awards for Worst Feud under his belt, is one hell of a good sport when it comes to bad storylines. Continue Reading...

2010, WWE I know, I know – today’s induction is nothing new. In many ways, it’s a rerun of what probably was the genesis of WrestleCrap.com in the first place. You know. This guy. If you ever wanted to know the absolute best reason to plunk down your $9.99 a month to get the WWE Network, ignore whatever creepface JBL Continue Reading...

WWF, 1991 Today’s induction involves Hulk Hogan, some leaked documents, a big scandal, and a black man. No, I don’t mean the Hulkster’s racist rant that recently came to light. I mean Hogan’s appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show amid rumors of steroid abuse. It just goes to prove that old saying: “The more things change, the more they stay Continue Reading...

WCW, 1997 Let’s face it: it has almost always been good to be Eric Bischoff. Before he was getting paid big bucks to spend bottomless pits of someone else’s money in TNA, he was… well, doing exactly that in WCW. The difference was that starting in 1996, the spending spree was really paying off, with the New World Order angle Continue Reading...

WCW, 1999 It’s safe to say that the Randy Savage of 1999 was not the same Macho Man wrestling fans remembered from the 80s or even the early 90s. Now substantially bulkier for reasons I won’t speculate about, this Randy Savage was no longer a high-flyer. Instead of Miss Elizabeth at his side, Macho Man now had a three-woman entourage Continue Reading...

WCW, 2000 As I think everyone knows, Matt over at Dinosaur Dracula (formerly x-entertainment) and I have been buddies for years. I mean, it’s not like we talk all the time, or even have each other on speed dial…so maybe “buddies” is a stretch. Still, we’ve respected each other’s work since I started WrestleCrap.com back in 2000. I consider him, Continue Reading...

WCW, 1999 When head writers Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara jumped from the WWF to WCW in the fall of 1999, many expected big changes for WCW and its fortunes. For the masterminds behind the Attitude Era, what WCW needed more than new stars was sex, sex, sex. Not content with just infusing sexual content into the storylines and characters Continue Reading...

TNA, 2011 As I sit down to write this, I’m looking in my rear view mirror at what may be the final TNA Impact Wrestling PPV ever. The company looks to be in a complete free fall, with wrestlers leaving, rumors swirling, and the hardest of the hardcore fan base claiming that there’s no possible way this company could possibly Continue Reading...

WWE, 2011 By the time you read this, the cast of the new Tough Enough will have been selected, the first episode will have aired, and Hank will have been eliminated. The abysmal success rate of Tough Enough over the years should be a hint that the whole Tough Enough format — where WWE picks a handful of youngsters with Continue Reading...

TV Show, 1991 From the “things you never knew about Mrs. Deal and she’s happy about it” file comes this interesting tidbit: she’s a huge Zorro mark. Doesn’t matter what the context is, be it TV shows or comic books or movies, whatever. She loves the man. Which is ironic in that she never lets me sport a mustache. Seriously, Continue Reading...

WWF, 1997 It’s rare for WWE to create a television program that stands out from all its other content. ECW on Sci-Fi was basically just Smackdown filmed from a different angle, Smackdown these days is simply Raw: The Director’s Cut, and the fifth season of NXT played out like episodes of Raw, with the roster of Superstars, written as if Continue Reading...

I’m trapped in a plane. Well, I call it trapped. I’m 6’5″, rolling in economy, crammed against a window that has offered me a couple hours of sleep on this 8 hour flight. The night before? Oh, I was up fixing a server that died on me while I was out of town. Got no, and I mean zero, sleep. Continue Reading...

Movie, 2015 After inducting Trish Stratus’s barking like a dog, I’ve decided to keep up the theme and write about another time that dogs and wrestling met, mated, and produced an unviable embryo. So what better subject matter than Russell Madness, one of the most insane family movies ever produced? You’d think that a film about a dog who conquers Continue Reading...

Workout DVD, 2009 It was about a year ago that I jumped on the Ice Bucket Challenge bandwagon, and released this video: It was a silly attempt at making folks laugh, and the fact that RD Jr. can be heard giggling in the background throughout it is something that makes me consider it a success. Of course, others didn’t view Continue Reading...

TNA, 2010 Text by RD Reynolds Well, TNA, congratulations. Dixie Carter, come on up and claim your prize. It took eight years to finally snag it, but you did it. The Gooker is finally yours. In a lot of ways, this day was inevitable. I mean, for how many years have folks been lambasting this company for putting on horrible shows, Continue Reading...

WCW, Merchandise Catalog 1999 First things first: I know that merchandise is generally the realm of Someone Bought This!, but today’s write up is a bit more extensive than what we generally cover there. Besides, that particular column actually originated thanks to large inductions wherein I would look at magazine inserts and catalogs such as this, so consider this a blast from Continue Reading...

WWE, 2001 It’s rare to be able to put a price tag on piece of Wrestlecrap, and it’s even rarer that a piece of Wrestlecrap influences the affairs of the federal government, but tonight’s induction accomplished both feats. Vince McMahon’s degrading in-ring segment with Trish Stratus ended up shooting his wife’s chances at a United States Senate seat straight to Continue Reading...

WWF, 1986 Anyone who lived through the mid 80’s WWF will remember all the animals running around at the time. Which was your favorite was simply a matter of choice. Dog lover? The British Bulldogs had Matilda…. …and when Davey Boy Smith was a solo act, Winston. Maybe you were a bit more off the beaten path and favored snakes? Continue Reading...

WCW, 1997 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: in a match billed as one of the biggest and most important of all time, Hulk Hogan takes on a 7’4” giant at the Silverdome — I mean, Superdome. This time around, though, instead of the big main event being presented without commercial interruption, it *is* the interruption; the match Continue Reading...

WCW 2000 by Emerson Witner In his critically acclaimed tome A Lion’s Tale, Chris Jericho told the story of him trying to get a pay per view match with WCW Champion Goldberg coming on the heels of a really fun storyline where Jericho kept challenging Goldberg to a match, mocked his entrance and beat a midget version of him. Anyway, Eric Continue Reading...